So my wife has a dodge durango right now and it's nice but it's slaughtering me on fuel mileage and she wouldn't mind something a little smaller. I'm thinking either a 2001 CRV or Rav4 but I also thought that the transmission recall of 2000 affected some of the CRV is that true? According to consumer guide the CRV is the way to go but I'm split, The reason I'm looking at these two is because they both get great fuel economy and have enough room for my family (and safety)... Opinions anyone? Can anyone tell me if that class action suite included any of the CRV's?

 

Tell you what I looked at today Nastey...a Acura MX in white..mama mia she's a sweet piece of metal and glass...

WheelBrokerAng

 

I would agree... those are nice but the fuel economy isn't that much better than my durango and the price on them is a lot more.... I'm starting to lean towards a (cringe) Hyundai SantaFe.... Lots of people keep telling me that they are actually pretty nice....

 

I'm getting all sorts of confused right now.... trying to get my wife out of the 00 Durango in around the $13,000 range so I'm trying to find a Matrix (AWD), Rav4, CRV(02 style) or Possibly Hyundai SantaFe but I can't figure out which one I would like to buy.... any thoughts or personal experience from anyone?

 

The CRV has a lot more room in it than the RAV 4 and more power I believe. The Santa Fe has proven to be reliable but the initial (small) V-6 engines seemed a little weak. I'm basing these comments on having driven neighbors CRV & RAV 4. Step son has a Santa Fe and it has been 100% bulletproof, I've driven it also.

In my opinion all three are good choices. It would boil down to which one you come across that seems to be in the best shape and fits the budget. Not familar with the AWD Matrix.

 

I used to sell Hyundais back in 2002-03. The Sante Fe is nice, it just seemed a little small. But then, if you are comparing it to a CR-V and Rav4, then you arent looking for anything big. The build quality on Hyundais is really good, and you cant beat the warranty. You probably want to stay away from the 4 cyl model, its really underpowered. The 3.5L V6 has a decent amount of power, better than the 2.7L that was initially offered, but at the cost of fuel mileage, of course.

 

So the wife is trying to wrangle me into a different vehicle.... She saw a 2000 RX300 Lexus (small SUV) for 13,995.00... It's pretty to say the least, 19/24 fuel economy which is better than my durango so I'm thinking I'll come at them with a lowball figure of 12000 even and see what happens, trading in my durango and civic... My goodness it's beautifull in a pearl white with tan leather interior 3.0L V6 220HP 222 lb/ft torque... Any opinions on this one?

 

They are pretty nice looking, I dont know anything about reliability. Whats the mileage on it? When you say Civic, are you meaning the 81 station wagon?

 

Here's a review: http://www.internetautoguide.com/rev...000/index.html

PREMIUM fuel recommended! YIKES!

 

I've been reading reviews on them for quite some time now, it has 93k miles on it and yeah I'm going to trade the durango and the civic in hopefully... Premium fuel huh? well there goes my savings from better economy! It appears that SOME of them had a problem similar to some of the seals on accords, no retainer installed so it can develope an oil leak in the best spot possible... Rear Main Seal.... Other than that though it would appear the only other possible issue is crappy dashboard bulbs that burnt out at times... This car however is immaculate, no scratches, dents or dings, one owner, clean crack/tear freee leather and my wife is going to sob if I don't buy it....